1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for identifying a presenter of a credit card for a credit transaction as an authorized user of the credit card.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Credit cards have proved fertile ground for fraud and theft. The interest of the financial industry in maintaining a credit card system which is both streamlined and easy to use is threatened by the overriding interest of maintaining security. The ease with which thieves obtain all information necessary for fraudulent use of a credit card directly from the face of the credit card or from discarded invoices, portions of the credit slip, or carbon papers torn from credit slips has repeatedly compromised security.
A number of examples attempted solutions to the problem of credit card fraud appear in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,453 issued to Shapiro et al. and entitled CREDIT CARD SECURITY SYSTEMS proposes the use of auxiliary character markings corresponding to months of the year for which the card is valid. The bank upon receipt of the bank copy of the invoice will accept the invoice for payment only if it contains proper auxiliary markings for the date of use of the card.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,626,669 entitled INTERCEPT SYSTEM FOR INTERCEPTING STOLEN, LOST AND FRAUDULENT CARDS requires the card to have a permanently recorded electromagnetically readable tape laminated onto the card body. The visibly readable portions of the card must match numbers derived from machine readable codes recorded on the magnetic tape. The magnetic tape may also include a code to generate an identification number which must be memorized by the cardholder and which does not appear on the face of the card.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,156 issued to Dethloff and entitled IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM SAFE-GUARDED AGAINST MISUSE teaches the inclusion of an integrated circuit on an identification card for storing a secret number, which a user must remember to verify that he is the authorized user of the card.
Other patents, particularly U.S. Pat. No. 3,972,138 issued to Armbruster et al. entitled CREDIT CARD; U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,235 issued to Roberts et al. entitled COMBINATION CREDIT CARD; U.S. Pat. No. 3,624,938 issued to Richard entitled FOOLPROOF CREDIT CARD; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,399,473 issued to Jaffe entitled COMBINATION CREDIT CARD disclose a variety of mechanical adaptions of credit cards whereby a user may indicate his personal secret code or authorization.
Additionally, simplification for use and improved reliability of remote terminals for central data processing systems have provided a backdrop for verification of authority to cash checks as taught in such disclosures as U.S. Pat. No. 4,187,498 issued to Creekmore.
However, employment of such improved communications to provide an authorized user of a credit card with both quick verification of his/her authority has not been provided. Such a system would additionally allow the authorized user to quickly change indicia of his/her authority. A key to such an improvement is provided by allowing the cardholder a secret identifier as his/her authority and by providing for his/her changing that symbol to maintain its secrecy.